The present invention relates to an apparatus for converting rotational movement of one member into a linear movement of another member to produce a linear thrust.
Known multi-purpose mechanisms for converting rotational to linear movement include a rack and pinion combination, or a screw and worm gear combination. They have the disadvantage that, in such a rack and pinion combination, the rotational speed of the pinion should be kept low, and in a mechanism with a screw, the size of the screw limits the length of linear movement.
It is a general object of this invention to provide an uncomplicated multi-purpose converter from rotational to linear movement, which allows for any desired length of linear movement.